Morrisons acquires fresh meat facility

The purchase of the facility, which produces around 1.5 million packs of sliced ham and poultry each week, is part of a £200 million investment in food manufacturing by Morrisons over the next three years.

Morrisons and Cranswick took joint ownership of the site in 2010 and since then have invested £30 million in expanding its capacity and capability. The 175 sq ft factory in North Wales now employs 600 people, enabling Morrisons to manufacture more products in-house rather than having them made by third parties.

Commenting on the acquisition, Morrisons group manufacturing director Martyn Fletcher said: "We have worked closely with Cranswick over the past 18 months to grow this site in Deeside and would like to thank them for their fantastic support in developing a state-of-the-art facility."

Morrisons is also planning to revamp its cooked meat range this summer. A spokesperson said: "We are re-launching thousands of Morrisons products, improving the quality in each area and also looking to bring something different to the market wherever possible . The cooked meat range is one part of this and will see us introducing new products like ready-to-eat chicken."

The supermarket is currently the second largest fresh food manufacturer in the country behind Vion UK.